Minutemen Prove To Be Too Much For Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Friday night's football matchup between the Concord Minutemen and the Warsaw Tigers was a matchup of two very similar teams.
Both teams came into the contest with records of 4-4 and 2-3 in the NLC.
Besides having identical records, both teams have dangerous running backs. Concord's Rickey McKenzie and the Tiger's Jose Esquivel are both all-NLC material.
McKenzie had the better night rushing with 217 yards as he led his Minutemen to a 31-17 win at Fisher Field.
Early in the game it was Concord QB Russ Mann's arm, not McKenzie's legs, doing the damage. After McKenzie rushed the ball two straight times on Concord's first possession for no yards, Mann air-mailed a pass to senior wideout Matt Myers for 20 yards that placed the Minutemen on the Warsaw 26- yard line.
Four plays later, Mann capped off the eight-play, 46- yard drive by hitting fullback Josh Staley from nine yards out.
Despite being held in check early on the offensive side of the ball, McKenzie qucikly made his presence known on defense. After Concord's first score, the Tigers' following possession saw Warsaw faced with a third and long.
On that third down, Warsaw quarterback Greg Seiss' pass ended up in the arms of McKenzie, and after a short runback, the Minutemen once again saw themselves starting a drive inside the Warsaw 50.
This time, however, their drive stalled, and a Brant Fowler 37-yard field goal sailed wide right, leaving Warsaw's deficit at seven.
Warsaw finally broke into the scoring column early in the second quarter when Seiss ran 57 yards on the quarterback keeper. Following a Brad Waggoner kick, the Tigers drew even with Concord at 7-7.
Warsaw then moved into the lead when Esquivel scored from 14 yards out with 1:32 left in the first half. This was one of Esquivel's longest runs of the night. He struggled to find openings against a tough Concord line but managed to rush for 101 yards on 29 carries.
The Tiger lead was short-lived when on the ensuing kickoff, McKenzie was one block away from running the kick back 85 yards. Instead he ran it back to the Warsaw 41, giving his team great field position once again with over a minute left in the first half and three timeouts in hand.
The drive looked to be halted when Tiger linebacker Marvin Farmer broke through the Concord line and sacked Mann. On the next play, Farmer and DE Matt Horn looked to combine on another sack of Mann. Instead the referee ruled Mann was attempting a pass and nullified the sack.
With less then a minute left in the half Concord decided to attempt the fourth down conversion. The Minutemen were successful as Mann connected with wideout Stephen Lyon for 21 yards, giving the Minutemen the first down and another shot at the end zone.
Concord was quick to capitalize as Mann hit Myers again for 20 yards, this time for the touchdown.
With the momentum of their late first-half touchdown, Concord took the opening second-half kickoff and soon staged a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped off when Mann dove over his offensive line from two yards out to put his Minutemen ahead 21-14. All 12 of Concord's plays during that drive were runs, eight of which went to McKenzie.
If McKenzie struggled in the first half, then he certainly broke out of his funk, rushing the ball 13 times in the second half for 185 yards.
On the other side of the field Esquivel, while continuing to pound for solid yards, couldn't break for the big gains McKenzie was able to. With that, Warsaw coach Phil Jensen looked to Greg Seiss to run as well as throw.
Seiss responded by rushing for 135 yards. Despite his success running the ball, Seiss continued to struggle throwing it as he had two interceptions, both to McKenzie.
According to Jensen, that's what you get with a young quarterback
"Greg Seiss, our quarterback, had some great plays and some not so great plays," he said. "But he's getting better every day, and he's working hard."
Seiss and the rest of the Tiger offense were given a chance to draw even with the Minutemen when after a 14-yard run, Staley coughed up the ball, which landed in the arms of a Warsaw defender.
After several Esquivel runs that moved the chains, Warsaw's come-from-behind hopes were dashed when Seiss overshot his receiver on fourth down. The following play saw Concord call McKenzie's number once more as the junior running back ran 69 yards for a touchdown, killing any chance of a comeback on Warsaw's part.
Despite the loss, Jensen looked hopeful about the postseason. The squad, led by seniors Ryan Sands, Joe Stanley, Steve Fribley and Joe Sittler on defense and Esquivel on offense, hopes to do what no Tiger squad has done: win a postseason game. In 13 attempts the Tigers have the goose egg.
"Everybody is 0-0 when it comes to the postseason," said Jensen. "I don't care what the regular-season records are. It's a great oppurtunity. We're at home next Friday, and they have a chance to do what no other Warsaw football team has been able to do and that's win a postseason game."
Warsaw, 4-5 and 2-4 in the NLC, looks for that elusive playoff win as it hosts the 5-4 Marion Giants.
WARSAW 31
CONCORD 17
Concord 7 7 7 10- 31
Warsaw 0 14 0 3- 17
C W
First downs 15 12
Rushes-yards 37-280 40-259
Passing yards 90 128
Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-10-1 8-25-2
Total offense 350 377
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Punts-avg. 2-36 4-36.2
Penalties-yds. 2-15 2-25
First Quarter
C-Josh Staley 9 pass from Russ Mann (Brant Fowler kick)
Second Quarter
W- Greg Seiss 57 run (Brad Waggoner kick)
W- Jose Esquivel 14 run (Waggoner kick)
C- Matt Myers 20 pass from Mann (Fowler kick)
Third Quarter
C- Mann 2 run (Fowler kick)
Fourth Quarter
C-Fowler 43 FG
W- Waggoner 34 FG
C- Rickey McKenzie 69 run (Fowler kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing -ÊConcord: McKenzie 21-217, Staley 10-48, Mann 5-16, Daniel Martin 1- -1. Warsaw: Esquivel 29-101, Seiss 8-135, Mike Moore 2-7, Jon Carr 1-16.
Receiving - Concord: Myers 3-60, Stephen Lyon 1-21, Staley 1-9. Warsaw: Ross Kesler 3-61, Esquivel 3-42, Jon Hill 1-14, Tom Donkers 1-14.
Passing - Concord: Mann 5-9-1 90, McKenzie 0-1-0 0. Warsaw: Seiss 8-25-2 128. [[In-content Ad]]
Friday night's football matchup between the Concord Minutemen and the Warsaw Tigers was a matchup of two very similar teams.
Both teams came into the contest with records of 4-4 and 2-3 in the NLC.
Besides having identical records, both teams have dangerous running backs. Concord's Rickey McKenzie and the Tiger's Jose Esquivel are both all-NLC material.
McKenzie had the better night rushing with 217 yards as he led his Minutemen to a 31-17 win at Fisher Field.
Early in the game it was Concord QB Russ Mann's arm, not McKenzie's legs, doing the damage. After McKenzie rushed the ball two straight times on Concord's first possession for no yards, Mann air-mailed a pass to senior wideout Matt Myers for 20 yards that placed the Minutemen on the Warsaw 26- yard line.
Four plays later, Mann capped off the eight-play, 46- yard drive by hitting fullback Josh Staley from nine yards out.
Despite being held in check early on the offensive side of the ball, McKenzie qucikly made his presence known on defense. After Concord's first score, the Tigers' following possession saw Warsaw faced with a third and long.
On that third down, Warsaw quarterback Greg Seiss' pass ended up in the arms of McKenzie, and after a short runback, the Minutemen once again saw themselves starting a drive inside the Warsaw 50.
This time, however, their drive stalled, and a Brant Fowler 37-yard field goal sailed wide right, leaving Warsaw's deficit at seven.
Warsaw finally broke into the scoring column early in the second quarter when Seiss ran 57 yards on the quarterback keeper. Following a Brad Waggoner kick, the Tigers drew even with Concord at 7-7.
Warsaw then moved into the lead when Esquivel scored from 14 yards out with 1:32 left in the first half. This was one of Esquivel's longest runs of the night. He struggled to find openings against a tough Concord line but managed to rush for 101 yards on 29 carries.
The Tiger lead was short-lived when on the ensuing kickoff, McKenzie was one block away from running the kick back 85 yards. Instead he ran it back to the Warsaw 41, giving his team great field position once again with over a minute left in the first half and three timeouts in hand.
The drive looked to be halted when Tiger linebacker Marvin Farmer broke through the Concord line and sacked Mann. On the next play, Farmer and DE Matt Horn looked to combine on another sack of Mann. Instead the referee ruled Mann was attempting a pass and nullified the sack.
With less then a minute left in the half Concord decided to attempt the fourth down conversion. The Minutemen were successful as Mann connected with wideout Stephen Lyon for 21 yards, giving the Minutemen the first down and another shot at the end zone.
Concord was quick to capitalize as Mann hit Myers again for 20 yards, this time for the touchdown.
With the momentum of their late first-half touchdown, Concord took the opening second-half kickoff and soon staged a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped off when Mann dove over his offensive line from two yards out to put his Minutemen ahead 21-14. All 12 of Concord's plays during that drive were runs, eight of which went to McKenzie.
If McKenzie struggled in the first half, then he certainly broke out of his funk, rushing the ball 13 times in the second half for 185 yards.
On the other side of the field Esquivel, while continuing to pound for solid yards, couldn't break for the big gains McKenzie was able to. With that, Warsaw coach Phil Jensen looked to Greg Seiss to run as well as throw.
Seiss responded by rushing for 135 yards. Despite his success running the ball, Seiss continued to struggle throwing it as he had two interceptions, both to McKenzie.
According to Jensen, that's what you get with a young quarterback
"Greg Seiss, our quarterback, had some great plays and some not so great plays," he said. "But he's getting better every day, and he's working hard."
Seiss and the rest of the Tiger offense were given a chance to draw even with the Minutemen when after a 14-yard run, Staley coughed up the ball, which landed in the arms of a Warsaw defender.
After several Esquivel runs that moved the chains, Warsaw's come-from-behind hopes were dashed when Seiss overshot his receiver on fourth down. The following play saw Concord call McKenzie's number once more as the junior running back ran 69 yards for a touchdown, killing any chance of a comeback on Warsaw's part.
Despite the loss, Jensen looked hopeful about the postseason. The squad, led by seniors Ryan Sands, Joe Stanley, Steve Fribley and Joe Sittler on defense and Esquivel on offense, hopes to do what no Tiger squad has done: win a postseason game. In 13 attempts the Tigers have the goose egg.
"Everybody is 0-0 when it comes to the postseason," said Jensen. "I don't care what the regular-season records are. It's a great oppurtunity. We're at home next Friday, and they have a chance to do what no other Warsaw football team has been able to do and that's win a postseason game."
Warsaw, 4-5 and 2-4 in the NLC, looks for that elusive playoff win as it hosts the 5-4 Marion Giants.
WARSAW 31
CONCORD 17
Concord 7 7 7 10- 31
Warsaw 0 14 0 3- 17
C W
First downs 15 12
Rushes-yards 37-280 40-259
Passing yards 90 128
Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-10-1 8-25-2
Total offense 350 377
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Punts-avg. 2-36 4-36.2
Penalties-yds. 2-15 2-25
First Quarter
C-Josh Staley 9 pass from Russ Mann (Brant Fowler kick)
Second Quarter
W- Greg Seiss 57 run (Brad Waggoner kick)
W- Jose Esquivel 14 run (Waggoner kick)
C- Matt Myers 20 pass from Mann (Fowler kick)
Third Quarter
C- Mann 2 run (Fowler kick)
Fourth Quarter
C-Fowler 43 FG
W- Waggoner 34 FG
C- Rickey McKenzie 69 run (Fowler kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing -ÊConcord: McKenzie 21-217, Staley 10-48, Mann 5-16, Daniel Martin 1- -1. Warsaw: Esquivel 29-101, Seiss 8-135, Mike Moore 2-7, Jon Carr 1-16.
Receiving - Concord: Myers 3-60, Stephen Lyon 1-21, Staley 1-9. Warsaw: Ross Kesler 3-61, Esquivel 3-42, Jon Hill 1-14, Tom Donkers 1-14.
Passing - Concord: Mann 5-9-1 90, McKenzie 0-1-0 0. Warsaw: Seiss 8-25-2 128. [[In-content Ad]]